March 14 2011: More Nordlingen aka DON'T BE LATE

Our very first full day in Europe, YAY! Today we learned the very valuable lesson about punctuality. When Mr. Jatiouk says that we have to be on the bus by 8:30am, he means 8:30am, NOT 8:45. We learned this the hard way as he gave us all a very stern lecture about being late; even leaving behind around 10 people for their tardiness. Those punctual people however, had the excellent opportunity of touring the area around Nordlingen. We saw this beautiful church with a ceiling that made anyone want to cry with its beauty. We then saw Mayan ruins and the First Wallerstein (aka a really cool castle). We then travelled back to the hotel to get ready for lunch. A few others and I ate at this German fast food restaurant called 'Kockleffor' where I had this delicious tater-tot type thing.
Soon after, we had our very first (and best) concert! It felt like the entire town came out to see us and we even got to play with the Nordlingen Boys Band, a group of European boys with the same passion for music as we do-- cue the screaming girls! We were lucky enough to have social time with them where I can easily say I made many new friends, even though the language barrier was somewhat an issue. We then went to the town square to see the town caller and then to McDonalds with our new new friends to sit and chat (not to eat however because we all vowed to try new things). We then walked back to the hotel where we played the amazing card game called MAO. As we were all very tired, my room mates and I decided to go back to our hotel room only to discover that we were locked out. However, because of our gracious friends, we were able to have an enjoyable time sleeping over in another room! This was certainly a day I could never forget.